Moving on
by Angel Benders
Summary: Lin returns home to her mother, Toph, after having her heart broken by Tenzin, who has moved on from her to Pema. A rare mother daughter moment for Lin and Toph.


**A/N: So this is just something I wrote spur of the moment. There are some personal feelings in this one, but it's something I've wanted to write for a while.**

Lin's mind is overrun with despair. Her life got turned upside down in a single moment, and now she was walking home alone in the dark while it was raining. It was getting late.

It was over between her and Tenzin.

_How could I not see it coming?_

That single thought taunted her, putting her mind into overdrive. Her mind raced back over every moment they spent together, desperate for anything, some hint that things weren't working out.

_What went wrong?_

Lin walked along the sidewalk, arms crossed and head hung low. Never in her life did she have feelings for someone like she did for Tenzin. She had reached the point where she couldn't imagine life without him by her side. Now, though, that all seemed to be a false hope as things had crumbled to the ground.

All this had fallen apart because another girl, Pema, came along and stole Tenzin's heart from her. Reflecting now, Lin could see the hints that Tenzin was losing interest in her and gaining interest in Pema.

_He did start to get lost in thought during our usual discussions, which never happened before Pema came along._

The thought played along in her mind, it was an obvious hint.

_I'm so stupid, why did I not notice that happening. I should have asked him what was up long ago._

She scolded herself in her mind, wondering why she was so stupid.

Lin was never one to go easy on herself. A trait she had picked up from her mother. It was obvious that from a young age that Lin was going to grow up as strong as her mother.

Right now though she started to doubt that as her heart felt like it was breaking into hundreds of tiny shards. It felt like they were shredding her from the inside.

_My mother would never let herself get so close to someone, open up to someone and share her deepest secrets._

She shivered at the thought. What would her mother say when she found out she broke up with Tenzin? What would she think of Lin now?

The grey cloudy skies and pouring rain didn't make her feel any better as she continued to walk home, but they couldn't possibly make her feel any worse.

It wasn't long before she reached home and stumbled in the door, taking her coat off straight away.

"Hi Lin," Toph called out from living room.

All that Lin could let out was a mumble as she walked quickly past the living room, around the corner and through the door into her room. The slammed closed and Lin finally let herself collapse.

She made it to her bed, where she fell face first into her pillow and began to sniffle. She had been with Tenzin for years, 4 in fact. She had been friends with him for years before that, heck, she had grown up with the guy.

All of that felt lost now as the reality that he didn't love her anymore set in. Sniffles turned into all out sobbing as her body began to convulse.

_He stopped loving me, he didn't feel the need to be close to me, to hold me anymore._

She still loved him, loved him like he was the world to her. Her world had betrayed her.

There was a knock at the door as her body continued to release wracking sobs.

"Lin, Lin what's going on?" The voice sounded panicked. Lin had only heard Toph panicked a small handful of times, but knew it was her instantly. Besides, she was the only other person in the house.

"Go away," Lin managed to let out between cries.

"Please Lin, tell me what's wrong," Toph replied as she opened the door and slowly walked in, approaching Lin as calmly as possible.

"Tenzin, Tenzin is what's wrong. He's found someone else."

"Oh Lin. I'm so sorry to hear that, that's terrible," Toph said as she sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Lin's shoulder. Toph was never one to be close to others or let herself get involved in emotional situations, but that was irrelevant when her daughter was involved.

"It hurts, it hurts so much," Lin choked out.

"I know it does sweetie, it will be okay though, don't worry. Things get better," Toph consoled her as best she could.

"It hurts more because we grew up together, we were best friends. Why did this happen, why did any of this happen? I don't understand."

"I know it hurts, losing the love of someone, especially your best friend isn't easy. I'm sorry that there isn't much that can be done about this Lin, but remember there are always people around you who care about you. Especially me, I'm always on your side," Toph said as she rubbed Lin's shoulder with her thumb gently.

"Thanks mother, you're always here for me," Lin managed to say clearly as her sobs began to subside. "But I just, I really want to be with him."

"I know you do. But remember to stay strong, you need to remember that you can do things on your own and be happy," Toph said as she removed her hand from Lin.

"Thank you, thank you so much for always being here for me," Lin said, sitting up and throwing her arms around her mother in a tight embrace.

It was a rare moment of mother and daughter affection for Lin and Toph, but it was what Lin needed to feel better. After a few moments Lin let go, and Toph got up and walked back to the door.

"If you need me, I'll be in the living room. Try and get some sleep."

The door closed as Toph walked back to the living room.

Lin lay back down and closed her eyes.

_I can do things on my own. I am strong. Even if I miss him, I can still move forwards on my own._

Her mind slowed down as she slowly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
